For most college-bound high school seniors, the spring months are a time for reflection and relaxation.
For Jon Searles, they were life-altering.
The 25-year-old Wharton graduate, who is now pitching AA baseball and is hoping to become a regular in the majors, had some difficult decisions to face during that time.
Searles was expecting to pitch and play quarterback for Penn, but a couple of good games in his last year at Huntington High School changed all that.
"One scout, Larry Izzo, saw me pitch," Searles explained. "I had pretty good velocity on the radar gun. I had a very good outing. He put in a report to the Major League Scouting Bureau, and that goes to all the local scouts.
"For the last five games of my senior year, I had 15-20 radar guns showing up at home plate."
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound right-hander, who can throw in the low-to-mid 90s, continued to impress, and his work was rewarded. Searles was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the eighth round of the 1999 MLB draft.
He decided to sign with the Pirates and attend the Wharton School. His gain was the Quakers' loss, however; his professional contract precluded him from playing at Penn.
The difficulty of Searles' commitment was eased somewhat by his minor league contract -- it fully covered his tuition to Penn.
Penn baseball coach John Cole says that Searles' situation isn't unique.
Cole knows more than a little bit about Searles' situation, as he himself graduated from Ithaca College in 1986 before playing professionally in the Class A Northwest League, and he said he knows others who took the same route.
"It reminds me of a similar situation: Brad Ausmus, when I was [an assistant coach] at Dartmouth, did the same thing. He committed to Dartmouth, and then he signed with the Yankees. I think it gives [players] tremendous leverage."
Still, what Cole describes as "the best of both worlds" was often stressful for Searles.
During his first two years of college, Searles spent the fall and most of the spring at Penn. He would then spend spring break and summer playing baseball, before returning to Philadelphia for classes.
"I was rarely home in New York," he said. "It was very difficult motivating myself because both school and baseball were at the highest possible level.
Yet the difficult struggle to balance the two has ended for Searles, who graduated in 2005.
Suzanne DePuyt, Searles' advisor at Wharton, described him in an e-mail as "a talented young man who worked hard to pursue his education and goals as an athlete."
That perseverance has started to pay dividends.
Searles spent last year with the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx, the AA affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. He posted a 6-3 record with a 3.35 ERA.
This year, the pitcher expects to throw in the bullpen for the Portland Sea Dogs, the Boston Red Sox AA affiliate.
Searles, whom the Red Sox minor league fan Web site Soxprospects.com calls a "righty bullpen workhorse," has been called up to several Major League games and even seen action.
In the Red Sox' spring training St. Patrick's Day game, Searles pitched the ninth inning.
He didn't allow a hit -- and registered two strikeouts to retire the side.
While Searles says he recognizes that he is experiencing success now, he also says there may come a time when he will have to actively use his Penn education.
"I had my best year I've ever had professionally last year. ... If I weren't progressing, then I would have to look to use my Wharton degree.
"But right now, I'm committed to trying to make it to the major leagues," he said.
